News
Subcontractors to blame for oil spill, says Lend Lease
Contractor mounts defence that shifts blame for faulty system to Overbury and Gratte Brothers
ISG is front-runner for £20m City Tower job
Contractor tipped for Great Portland Estates’ City Tower re-fit
Analysis & comment
Resuscitating construction: Alternative medicine
Last week Building looked at the government’s failure to resuscitate construction. This week, Joey Gardiner looks at where treatment is most urgently needed for construction to make a swift recovery
Features
The state of play 01: Contractors
The double-dip recession that the industry has been dreading is finally upon us. But exactly how bad are things out there, and how much worse are they going to get? In the first part of Building’s State of Play series examining the health of the industry, sector by sector, Emily Wright gives the prognosis for contractors
Wakefield council offices: A model of modesty
Cartwright Pickard’s considered, pragmatic design has allowed Wakefield’s council offices to come in at under half the price of some other recent civic buildings. Could this be a template for more hubristic architects to follow, asks Ike Ijeh
Data
The tracker: Staying put
Construction activity stayed static last month, with increases in the non-residential and civil engineering sector indices failing to lift them from negative territory, according to Experian Economics
Leader
You were warned
The double-dip is upon us so what can government, and companies themselves, do to help in this hour of need?
Comment
Quantity Surveyors: A must-have accessory
At long last, it looks like the humble quantity surveyor is being recognised in the global market and is on everyone’s shopping list, writes Richard Steer
Reading regs the riot act
Over-regulation and vested interests could be banished to the past if plans for a review panel of experts and consumer labelling get the go-ahead, says Ben Derbyshire
A chance for the industry to re-engage
With the economy falling back into recession engaging with government at the upcoming Government Construction Summit is more important than ever, writes John Frankiewicz
Hansom
Hansom: Capital gains
The pricey apartments at the Shard have many USPs, but are transport links really the clincher? Meanwhile Sweett is sour over lifts and work of a kind begins at Blackfriars One, but don’t get too excited
Digital life
My digital life … with Andrew Pyke
You’re more likely to get an email rather than a phone call from this sporty design director and that’s not his only bad digital habit
